The Lap-Band System is a simple medical device that has helped seriously overweight individuals safely and successfully achieve their weight loss goals.

Description of the Lap-Band System

Obesity is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The Lap-Band Adjustable Gastric Banding System was developed to assist severely obese individuals achieve long-term weight loss and reduce the health risks associated with obesity.

Surgical weight loss options offer a last resort solution for severely obese individuals who have struggled to lose weight over the years but have been unsuccessful. While the best way to lose weight is thru a healthy diet and regular exercise, these methods alone don't work for everyone. The Lap-Band System is a tool that will help these individuals manage their hunger, control the amount of food they eat, and lose weight.

How the Lap-Band System Works

With the Lap-Band System, an inflatable band is placed around the top portion of the stomach, creating a smaller stomach pouch. This smaller pouch limits the amount of food that can be eaten at any one time, slows the rate of digestion, and provides an earlier and longer-lasting feeling of fullness. The Lap-Band can be adjusted to let in more or less food as needed to manage your rate of weight loss. The Lap-Band System is an aid to weight loss, not a miracle cure. If you are dedicated to losing weight, the Lap-Band System can help you reach your weight loss goals.

The Benefits Of the Lap-Band System

The Lap-Band System benefits have helped make it the fastest growing weight loss surgery in the United States.

• The Lap-Band is inserted laparoscopically, resulting in fewer complications and faster recovery times that with open surgery procedures.
• It is the only adjustable medical device for weight loss approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), allowing personalized treatment that helps patients sustain long-term weight loss.
• It is the only weight loss procedure that is reversible - it can be removed at any time if necessary.
• There is no stomach stapling or stomach cutting.
• The intestines are not bypassed or rerouted.
• There is a low risk of nutritional and mineral deficiencies due to malabsorption.
• Lap-Band patients do not get dumping syndrome.
• It has the lowest complication rate and lowest complication rate of any bariatric procedure.

One of the benefits of Lap-Band Surgery is that there is no stomach cutting or stapling and the intestines are not bypassed or rerouted.

Lap-Band System Effectiveness

The Lap-Band System has been used in more than 250,000 procedures worldwide and has safely helped seriously overweight individuals achieve and maintain significant long-term weight loss. The long-term weight loss of Lap-Band patients averages 55 percent of excess weight at five years. Nearly all of the patients keep the weight off and continue to use the Lap-Band System. The adjustability helps patients sustain long-term weight loss benefits. Clinical studies have shown that Lap-Band patients show an improvement or resolution of co-morbid conditions such as diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure).

Lap-Band Patient Criteria

If you want to find out if the Lap-Band System is right for you, you will want to discuss the procedure with your primary care doctor and/or a bariatric surgeon, a doctor who specializes in weight loss surgery. In order to determine if you are a good candidate, some of the factors your doctor will consider are:

• Your Age: if you are 18 years of age or older
• Your BMI: if your BMI is 40 or greater, or you are at least 100 pounds overweight
• If you have been overweight five years or more
• If you have made serious attempts to lose weight but have not been successful
• Your overall health and obesity-related medical conditions

Choosing a Lap-Band Surgeon

If you and your primary care doctor agree that Lap-Band Surgery is a weight loss option for you to look into, he or she will refer you to a Bariatric Surgeon. It is important to find a surgeon that you are comfortable working with and one who is committed to supporting you with your weight loss both before and after surgery. You should also choose a surgeon that has sufficient qualifications and experience to perform the Lap-Band Surgery. Your doctor should provide you with the information you need about the procedure, answer your questions about the Lap-Band, discuss your expectations, explain the medical concepts and risks of surgery, financial considerations (costs, insurance coverage, and payment options), and determine if you meet the patient criteria.

Additional information about the Lap-Band System can be found at www.lapband.com.